MJ - Audio/Video Podcast Lesson

Podcasts, as a media tool, enable people to listen to what they want, when they want. Podcasting offers you, as a journalist, a way to share your voice, your creativity, and your thoughts. Broadcast news often requires that people select from one of the programs already playing; however, podcasting allows you to reach an audience that has a choice in the content they listen to. The content is always fresh and new. Another reason podcasting is a great news outlet is that it is portable. People can download and listen to a podcast on their computer, tablet, or phone.

You are going to have an opportunity to create your own video podcast. Here are a few ways to generate writing ideas:

1. Start with something you know. Follow an unfolding event in your school or neighborhood that interests you and holds your attention.
2. Seek the truth. Journalism is about gathering, analyzing, testing, and representing the objective truth of an event, issue, or person's life to the best of a reporter's ability. Think about something that you would like to know more about. Include relevant information.
3. Write for your audience. Journalistic writing should be tailored to the needs of the reader. Always remember that journalism is a form of storytelling. Inject your personality.
4. Create a good impression. Sound quality is important. Remember that creativity is an important part of any broadcast, but especially important because you are telling the story.
5. Just because a story has been reported in the news doesn't mean its life is over. In fact, in many cases, at the point it first gets printed, a story's life might be just beginning.

Review

Social networks, such as Twitter and Facebook, allow everyday people to share in the creating and sharing of the news. Both serve as a pathway to the news. Users of Facebook can include major news stories as part of their news feed. Therefore, your friends and family have access to news events of the day as well as a direct link to find out more information.
Twitter, on the other hand, allows followers the opportunity to see breaking news as it unfolds as well as a forum to share their opinions. They also allow consumers additional paths to the news. Another distinction between the two is that Twitter users are usually a mix of family and friends and news organizations. Most of these users also feel that without Twitter, they would have missed this kind of news. Facebook news feeds are often news items that users would have access to other places.
The concept of citizen journalism allows the public citizen to play a role in the news. News media technology, such as social networking and media-sharing websites, has made citizen journalism more accessible to people worldwide. Citizen journalism allows the public to be made aware of the news that they might not have known about otherwise. One disadvantage is that it may not be non-biased and balanced. A great strength of the Internet is that it allows for a community of users to have a voice. In modern journalism, recognizing diversity and inviting feedback adds depth to a story. It makes sure that nothing is overlooked in mainstream media coverage.

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